The Tower of the Winds, Athens, Greece (50 B.C.)
ARCH 161- M21
Zhuan Liang
Plan of Tower of the Wind Section of Tower of the Wind
Elevation of Tower of the Wind Tower of the Wind
The Tower
of the Winds is built around 50 B.C. in Plaka, Athens, Greece. It was built by
a Greek astronomer Andronicus of Cyrrhus who chose to use Pentelic marble.(1)
Pentelic marble is quarried from Penteli mountains located north of Athens. This
material has a white crystalline surface that contributes to the delicate look
of glass, but it has a long life span. It is well used by many Greek sculptors such
as Phidias and Praxiteles.(2) The Tower of the Winds stands 12 meters in height
(40 feet) and 8 meters in diameter (26 feet). It takes on an octagonal shape
pointing to the eight directions of a compass. (3)
The Tower of the Wind is at center of market The eight winds
Since the
Tower of the Winds is located in the center of a prosperous trade market, it is
used for many purposes during the ancient times. It was used to keep track of
time and tell time for all citizens, traders and foreigners based on the
position of the sun. For such use, they incorporated two systems, a water clock
in the interior and a sundial. The water clock or clepsydra, they used the
inflow method, water flows in from a nearby stream on top of the Acropolis to
help estimate the time of day.(1) Another use of The Tower of the Winds is to
forecast the weather and tell the direction of the wind with a wind wane in the
shape of Triton using his staff to point to the direction the wind blows.(4)
The frieze of the structure contains the eight wind deities, each side classify
to a specific wind deity. They include the four major winds: the north wind,
Boreas, the south wind, Notos, the east wind, Apeliotes and the west wind,
Zephyrus. The four minor winds are: the north east wind, Kaikias, the south
east wind, Euros, the south west wind, Lips and the north west wind, Skiron. These
winds can be personalized in the details of their sculpture to indicate the
type of wind they bring. For example, Boreas would be shown wearing a heavy
cloak since the north wind is cold.(3) The Tower of the Winds help traders
estimate their shipments’ arrival and help navigators forecast the best weather
to set sail etc.
Water clock Sundial
Throughout
time, The Tower of the Winds was completely buried under ground, but between
1837- 1845 the Greek Archaeological Society was able to excavate and revive the
structure. Restorations were made, but throughout the years the Tower of the
Winds take on other purposes. For example, during the Christian period, it was
transformed into a bell tower for a Byzantine church. Then, when the Ottomans
took over Athens, the tower was used as a tekke, a place of spiritual retreat
and character formation.(3) This structure was so well constructed that it
inspired many later architecture such as
the 18th century Radcliffe Observatory in Oxford, England or the
tower in Sevastopol, Crimea built in 1849. Many still visit today and it still
continues to inspire many future architects.
Transformed into a tekke
1. "Tower of the Winds in Athens - Greeka.com." Greeka. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2016.
2. "Tower of Winds." Tower of the Winds. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2016.
3. @ancientorigins. "The Ingenious Invention of the Tower of the Winds." Ancient Origins. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2016.
4. "The Tower of the Winds." The Tower of the Winds. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2016.
5. "A Turkish Description of the Tower of the Winds" Pierre A. MacKay American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 73, No. 4, (Oct., 2016), pp. 468-469.
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